Ed Snyder began this blog in order to share his decade-long experience with all things cemeterial. As a photographer specializing in images of cemetery statuary, I've run into some interesting people, had some unexplainable experiences, and had a lot of fun.

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Pet Cemetery

The grave markers all had engraved names like, Twinkie,
Muffie, and Simba. A few people were milling about, not sure if they were
mourners or just tourists like me. The cemetery is not off the beaten path, but rather right on a main thoroughfare, at a traffic light, so it's relatively easy for curious motorists to wheel in. It's gigantic billboard-sized sign is not easy to miss, either. Sea Breeze Pet Cemetery is at the intersection of Beach Boulevard and Yorktown Avenue, merely a mile from the sea, and the Pacific Coast Highway.

The vicinity is about an hour south of Los
Angeles. It is beautiful – Southern California at its finest. To say that
Newport Beach, where I was actually staying, is an affluent area is like saying the Pope is an okay guy. In
Newport Beach, even the pizza delivery guy drives a Porsche! (I swear I saw
this during my visit.) Wealth, it seems, allows you to grieve any way you like. As I walked through the front half of this
several-acre cemetery past the life-sized statue of “Old Sarge,” the U.S. Marine dog, I got a better idea of just how large the place
is. The office entrance, shown above, is about a third of the way into the cemetery, which comprises several acres in total.

There was an article published by the University of Pittsburgh in May, 2015, called, “Deathscapes in Metropolitan Colombia,” (written by Christien Klaufus) which was basically about how the affluent dead are
memorialized (because they can afford it) and the non-affluent are forgotten (and sometimes obliterated). I
thought about this as I visited the Sea Breeze Pet Cemetery in the next town over, Huntington Beach.

Animals, it seems, can enjoy a “defined social order of
society” by virtue of their wealthy keepers. The Sea Breeze Pet Cemetery and Crematorium is the final
resting place of thousands of animals which their owners have laid to rest.
Each grave has its own regulation-sized bronze or marble engraved memorial plaque (same kind as are found in human cemeteries) to mark the burial spot. Statues of Saint Francis of Assisi abound (patron saint, and protector of, animals).

“Pet” is a rather outdated name for the animal companions
that people choose to surround themselves with. And certainly, “pet” is not an
accurate or fair moniker for “Old Sarge,” whose statue commands the
central place in the cemetery, near the office entrance. From the “Roadside America” website:

"Old Sarge"

“Old Sarge, fighting Marine Corps "Devil Dog" of
World War II, was a brave German shepherd who saved 9 marines and was awarded a
purple heart. When he died at age 20, Old Sarge was seen off with a full
military funeral and 15 gun salute." - Roadside America

Other star-quality animals buried here, according to Roadside America:"Rumored to be the
last resting place of John Wayne's German Shepherd and a few pets belonging to
Karen Carpenter." John Wayne apparently lived in the area - the local Orange County airport into which I flew is called the John Wayne Airport. A statue of him sculpted in his famous cowboy swagger pose holds a prominent place in the lobby.

For the most part, the animals buried here are day-to-day common companions which residents felt very strongly about, and therefore went
to the expense of cremating, burying, and memorializing here at Sea
Breeze. And they have been doing this since 1961, according to The Sea Breeze Pet Cemetery website.

"He knew he was human?" - Cat grave, Sea Breeze Cemetery

Hearkening oddly to the segregation burial practices in
Columbia described in the University of Pittsburgh article, dogs are buried
away from cats, cats away from birds, and so on. There is even a separate
Jewish section, as we commonly find in human cemeteries! Though the South
American practices of burying the rich away from the poor is not quite the same
thing, these separate sections do make one wonder.

Like many human cemeteries, there is a defined section in
which the graves are decorated with spinning things, photos of the deceased, plastic flowers, and other adornments. I wondered if the prior owners/human companions of these animals actually
visited the graves.

The crematory, with its requisite chimney, sits behind the
office building. As it was late in the day, the place was closed. There were no
employees about. This was unfortunate for me, as I had many questions. The fast food
joint next door was open for business, however. Mercifully, there was a high
brick wall separating it from the cemetery. One may not want to idly survey such a deathscape
while munching on one’s tacos.

I didn’t have a lot of time to examine many gravestone
inscriptions, but I was taken with a few. I was rather puzzled by the memorial to Corky the cat who "Knew he was human." Also interesting is the "Boo Boo" stone directly above on which
they left a space for the next pet - just like in people cemeteries. Not sure if the iron pig
with wings below was supposed to signify an angelic messenger, a celestial guide to heaven - or just a deceased pig.